Processing metaphors: Models of processing, factors influencing processing mechanisms, and recent studies in Turkish

Abstract

Humans have an innate capacity to comprehend the communicative intentions behind utterances as soon as they hear them. However, there are still many unresolved questions regarding which cognitive mechanisms help people to recognize metaphorical expressions and how these mechanisms develop from childhood to adulthood. This article aims to examine two models of metaphor processing, summarizes the factors affecting the process of metaphor comprehension, and presents a literature review on metaphor processing in Turkish. This systematic review demonstrates that Turkish literature is advancing with more experimental studies in the field of metaphor processing and calls on further psycholinguistic research to understand how individual differences influence the processing and acquisition of metaphors.